We request partial funding support for operation of the 2013 Annual Meeting of the United States Human Proteome Organization (US-HUPO) entitled Translational Proteomics: Biology, Technology and Clinical Advances, to be held March 10-13, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. Since the first US HUPO meeting in 2005, this venue has been and continues to be a vital conference for the highly interdisciplinary scientific field of proteomics, particularly as directed towards biological and clinical questions. US-HUPO is a unique meeting of scientists because it truly reflects the multidisciplinary interactions that have allowed proteomic researchers to approach and solve sophisticated biomedical problems. The US-HUPO meeting endeavors to promote the clinical application and translation of diverse technological platforms including mass spectrometry, protein microarrays, biosensors, clinical assays to biomarker discovery and validation for diagnostic, prognostic and treatment purposes. The US-HUPO conference is heavily attended and has always attracted first-rate speakers in this field. The 2013 Annual Meeting will again bring together an outstanding and diverse group of scientists at the forefront of proteomics. Invited speakers in the symposium will explicitly discuss applications relevant to a wide range of diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infectious diseases. As technological advances made in the recent years are of critical importance in enabling scientists to more effectively address biological problems, the technological future of proteomics will also be a hallmark of the meeting. The topics chosen will educate participants on the latest, most effective technologies and methods, illustrate successful translation of these technologies into the clinic, and highlight new directions and grand challenges for the future of this field. Interactive panel discussions will be held on key topics in order to encourage a robust dialogue between speakers and meeting participants to discuss critical goals for the future in proteomics, outline anticipated obstacles, and brainstorm solutions. This year US-HUPO will continue highly successful parallel Career Development sessions in Biology, technology and clinical advances, to provide early stage investigators with crucial insights into growth areas in proteomics and strategies for professional development. The poster sessions will also offer a more informal exchange of scientific ideas and advances. Ample time will be devoted to social venues for attendees to meet each other and establish new contacts and collaborations. Currently, 30% of the invited speakers are either women or members of minority groups. Once the program is completed with selections from submitted abstracts, we expect to have at least 35% women and minority speakers, and at least 35% early stage investigators (assistant professors, post-docs and/ graduate students). Attendance is expected to be 350-450 participants, including 100-150 students/post-docs. Registration is not restricted, and all interested persons may attend. A special effort will be made to recruit minorit and industrial participants; the latter should be readily achievable given the central geographic location of Baltimore in the East coast. Participants will present posters on new findings each afternoon. Importantly, the conference provides a forum for young investigators to see the connection between fundamental scientific inquiry and the application of scientific methods to the design of efficacious interventions for human disease. To emphasize this goal, over 28 poster presentations that complement the themes of the meeting will be selected for short oral presentations with an increased time to 15 minutes from 10 minutes during the past meetings. Finally, it is important to note that, preceding the meeting, US-HUPO offers several Half-Day short courses on contemporary topics in proteomics.